Eagles fall to Seahawks, Packers’ win keeps playoff hopes alive

Week 13 of NFL football was anything but boring. Loaded with headlines and controversy, it provided some of the best action yet.

Darrelle Revis made his 2017 debut with the Kansas City Chiefs against the New York Jets at Metlife Stadium. It only makes sense that the cornerback would debut in New York, as the Jets are the team he retired from last year.

Another debut this week was Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon. After being suspended for years, he was finally eligible to return to the football field.

Jimmy Garoppolo made his debut with the San Francisco 49ers, but the biggest headline of the week was in Oakland.

The New York Giants took the field at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Sunday, Dec. 3, with Geno Smith starting as quarterback.

It was the first time since 2004 that Eli Manning did not start as quarterback. Following an incomprehensible decision by head coach Ben McAdoo, the Giants benched their future Hall of Fame signal-caller.

As for the game, the Oakland Raiders won an ugly offensive battle 24-17.

Even missing Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, Derek Carr was able to muster up enough points to get back in the race in the AFC West. Clearly McAdoo’s decision did not pay off and the Giants fell in game wins to 2-10.

Benching Manning was the finally straw for the team’s ownership, as the Giants fired McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese on the Monday following the game.

McAdoo disrespected Manning and made the Giants fan base erupt in turmoil.

New York fans are happy to see McAdoo go.

With the Chiefs trying to avoid falling to 6-6, this game against the Jets turned into a must-win. Kansas City started off hot, particularly Travis Kelce.

The tight end had 90 yards and 2 touchdowns within the first five minutes to give the Chiefs an early lead.

The Jets answered back with 2 touchdowns of their own. The game went back and forth into the fourth quarter, where the Jets were driving to try and take the lead.

Helped out by penalty after penalty, they ran 8 plays in a row inside the 10-yard line to eventually score the game-winning touchdown.

After the score, Marcus Peters was fed up with the referees and tossed one of their flags into the stands, resulting in an ejection.

The Jets held on to win 38-31 as the Chiefs continue to fall down the AFC standings.

NFC powerhouses met in Atlanta on Sunday, Dec. 3, as the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons faced off.

The Vikings looked to continue their hot pursuit of home field advantage in the NFC, while the Falcons just tried to keep pace with the rest of the NFC South.

Atlanta got on the board first with a Matt Bryant field goal, but there would not be much scoring after that.

The Vikings’ defense was on point again this week, holding Matt Ryan to 173 yards and no touchdowns. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes shut down Julio Jones, holding the elite wide receiver to only 2 receptions for 24 yards.

Case Keenum battled all game, throwing 2 touchdown passes. The touchdowns would prove to be enough, as the Vikings won 14-9, moving to 10-2 in game wins.

The Philadelphia Eagles had not beaten any powerhouse teams this season, so their 10-1 record was on the line in a legitimate matchup in CenturyLink Field against the Seattle Seahawks.

Even without Cliff Avril, Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, the Seahawks’ defense stymied the Eagles’ offense all game, allowing just 10 points.

For the Hawks, Russell Wilson strengthened his MVP case, throwing for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wilson and the Seahawks won easily 24-10, raising eyebrows for an Eagles team who is not invincible.

In other matchups around the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys snapped out of an offensive funk, beating the Washington Redskins 38-14 on the night of Nov. 30.

The New England Patriots handily beat their division foes, the Buffalo Bills, 23-3.

The Denver Broncos got embarrassed once again, this time by the Miami Dolphins defense, losing 35-9.

The 49ers, lead by ex-Chicago Bear kicker Robbie Gould, kicked 5 field goals to beat the Chicago Bears 15-14. The Baltimore Ravens’ defense showed up to play again, shutting down the Detroit Lions en route to a 44-20 victory.

The Green Bay Packers kept their playoff hopes alive, edging out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-20 in overtime. Aaron Jones rushed for the game-winning score on the opening possession of overtime.

The Tennessee Titans beat the Houston Texans 24-13 and the Jacksonville Jaguars kept pace with Tennessee, winning 30-10 over the Indianapolis Colts.

The Cleveland Browns move to 0-12 after a 19-10 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers move into a three-way tie for first place following the win.

The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals in the University of Phoenix Stadium 32-16, and the New Orleans Saints took the lead in the NFC South with a 31-21 win over the Carolina Panthers. Alvin Kamara showed up once again, racking up 120 total yards and 2 touchdowns.

A nasty AFC North rivalry on Monday, Dec. 4, sent Ryan Shazier and Vontaze Burfict off on stretchers.

The Cincinnati Bengals led 17-0, but the Le’Veon Bell led the Pittsburg Steelers to a comeback and Chris Boswell kicked a game-winning field goal at the buzzer.